Battle of Marudum

The Battle of Marudum occurred in the summer of 568 AD when a large army of Byzantine troops under the command of Governor of Brixia Priscus Metadidon was trounced by a smaller army of Lombards under Chnonodemar of Villanterio at Marudum (Marudo in northern Italy). The battle allowed for the Lombards to besiege the city of Laus Pompeia (Lodi) and capture it later that year.

Background
In 568 AD, the Germanic Lombards invaded the Byzantine Empire in northern Italy. The Byzantines had been weakened with the death of their emperor Justinian and their general Belisarius (both in 565) and the retirement of Narses, and the Lombards established themselves in the region of northern Italy now known as "Lombardy" due to their settlement of the area. The Lombards besieged the walled cities of northern Italy, including Mediolanium (Milan), Pavia (Ticinum), and Laus Pompeia (Lodi), so the Byzantine general Priscus Metadidon led an army of 758 Byzantine troops to lift the siege of Laus Pompeia. The Lombard warchief Chnonodemar of Villanterio led 690 warriors out of the siege lines to face the Byzantine force, and they met in battle at Marudum (Marudo, 8 miles from Lodi).

Battle
The Lombard warchief Chnonodemar gave an inspiring speech to his pagan warriors, telling them that many would go to the afterlife after the battle - he instructed his troops to ensure that they would not be the ones to die, and he said that he would make sure that Hell was filled with the Byzantine soldiers after the end of the fight. The Lombard cavalry was positioned on either flank of the Lombard force. The Lombards decided that it would be best to go on the defensive to repel the inevitable Byzantine attack before bravely charging the Byzantines and routing their forces.



The Byzantine cavalry charged the Lombard cavalry, so the Lombard cavalry met them along the way, fighting them in cavalry melee. The Lombard cavalry cut down several Byzantines and pursued their cavalry as they tried to flee. Meanwhile, the main Byzantine force assaulted the Lombard warriors, which included the elite Lombard Golden Band warriors, and the Lombards were inspired by their general, who stood directly behind them to encourage them. Some Lombard units took heavy losses, but they were saved by the attack of the Lombard cavalry from the Byzantine rear; the Lombards gave up their pursuit of the fleeing Byzantine cavalry and charged the rear of the Byzantines to cut them down from behind. The Byzantines were slaughtered, and while the Byzantines fled, the Lombard infantrymen cut down Priscus and several of his aides as they tried to escape their defeat. The Byzantines suffered very heavy losses, with 597 Byzantines being slain in the battle. 181 Lombards were killed in the battle.

Aftermath
The Byzantine defeat at Marudum was critical in the success of the Lombards' siege of Laus Pompeia, which fell shortly after the failure of the Byzantine relief force to break through. The commander of Laus Pompeia, Thomas, surrendered to the Lombards when it became apparent that there was no hope for further assistance. The Lombards would continue in their invasions of Italy, eventually moving south to capture the major cities of Ariminum (Ravenna), Spoletium (Spoleto), and Beneventum (Benevento) by 751. The Lombards would adapt to some Roman ways of life, with some abandoning paganism to become Christians, although they were either Arians or Catholics and not Greek Orthodoxes.